I watched in after the family had gone to bed, as Steven said it’s Bakeoff. I fell asleep and missed a bit but can’t say it affected things at all.I have recorded the series but not sure I will watch it......

Anyone who was expecting "exhibition standard" modelling or in-depth coverage of techniques and skills was always going to be disappointed.

First and foremost it is TV entertainment so it has to be easy to follow, have an element of competition/jeopardy and have some individuals/teams that you want to succeed/fail.

It did all that quite well.

Given the constraints (size of board, build time, budget, allowable commercial offereings, etc.) the winners produced an excellent model.

Bske Off has evolved over a number of series to a very slick presentation and this is in a similar mould. It won't win devoted fans amongst the serious modellers but as a bit of fun and, dare I say it, good publicity it is absolute gold.

(The Missenden team were people who had been on courses there, rather than the elite professionals they were presented as. That's entertainment.)

So there is a general consensus (almost) about this programme. Now I may be slightly out of sync as I will admit that a portion of my evening yesterday was spent watching Bake Off. My daughter then pointed out to me a show on Channel 4 which I have never seen called Extreme cake makers where on 28th September a lady called Rosie Drummer researched and made 100Kg of iced cake which incorporated a running layout and a beautiful steam engine in cake. If you can stand it its on Catch up!!!! - cant give you any links or photos at present.

I watched the repeat of the Model Railway Challenge today. I have to say that I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be after some of the comments here. Given the constraints of the competition in terms of time I think the teams did a good job to get their layouts going (with various degrees of success).

I don't think any audience would really have enjoyed an in-depth discussion of tree-making or weathering techniques. The coverage of the technical aspects of the hobby (such as track laying and scenic treatment) will never be more than superficial so as to maintain the interest of the general public. Instead we were treated to some fun cameo scenes and working models, and of course some nice model trains running at realistic speeds!

As with other similar programmes they used well known people for the judges. Steve Flint in particular, as editor of Railway Modeller magazine, added a degree of professional authority to the competition.

I actually find myself looking forward to the next one!

Ray
Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.

I found it quite enjoyable: simple entertainment, not to be taken seriously, with little pedagogic value. I think a few dads might even get a nudge from junior to get them something like what they see on TV for Christmas....

A minor disappointment from my side is the lack of younger contestants. After watching this program, one could think the hobby attracts mostly middle aged potbellied men, which we all know couldn't be further from the truth

Nothing wrong with a bit of light entertainment from time to time, i'll watch the second episode...

I watched both episodes that have been broadcast thus far today, and while I agree with the "Bake Off for Model Railways" comment i did find it reasonable light entertainment for a Sunday afternoon. They could have done with some time lapse shots showing progress on the better done layouts so you could see the progress being made, especially as the scenery was progressed.

I thought the scratch build challenge brought out some real inventiveness, the results of some of those were excellent considering they had only one working day to do it, even though there were some contestants who thought it a waste of time.

In both cases we worked out who the winner was before the judging actually happened, but I don't recognise either of the judges. I haven't kept track of who the editors of the MRR magazines and there are four major ones in the UK. But who the woman is I have absolutely no idea.

I don't know how one got onto the show, I hadn't heard of it until I saw the broadcast advertised in the TV schedules. I presume there was some advertisement inviting contestants to apply in some magazine or other.

Family and friends describe me as a grumpy old sod. Currently I am six weeks into recovery from total knee replacement surgery which went very well, and I am making good progress. However, I have been upgraded to VERY grumpy old sod. My dreams of three months of undisturbed train room pleasure have been thwarted by my layouts needs for acrobatics, stretching and kneeling none of which I can currently perform. So, I watch endless crap TV at most times day and night. I also have a problem currently with a concentration span of about 15 minutes before I become restless for change.

So last Thursday evening I was flicking though the channels and came across the last few minutes of the latest episode of the model railway thing. The model railways were to me of very low standard, with emphasis on “special effects” Dinosaurs etc which have never been a part of the hobby I know and love. The judge who is the editor of Railway modeller looked entirely underwhelmed but smiled as he was probably going to pick up a good appearance fee for simply being there and could plug his publication discreetly. The lady judge was one of those bossy strict boring women who knew nothing about the subject but felt her opinion was important and indisputable. The contestants were picked to fit a stereotype that people believe makes a “railway modeller”. So, the grumpiness made me flick onto something else before the few minutes was up.

Family and friends describe me as a grumpy old sod. Currently I am six weeks into recovery from total knee replacement surgery which went very well, and I am making good progress. However, I have been upgraded to VERY grumpy old sod. My dreams of three months of undisturbed train room pleasure have been thwarted by my layouts needs for acrobatics, stretching and kneeling none of which I can currently perform. So, I watch endless crap TV at most times day and night. I also have a problem currently with a concentration span of about 15 minutes before I become restless for change.

So last Thursday evening I was flicking though the channels and came across the last few minutes of the latest episode of the model railway thing. The model railways were to me of very low standard, with emphasis on “special effects” Dinosaurs etc which have never been a part of the hobby I know and love. The judge who is the editor of Railway modeller looked entirely underwhelmed but smiled as he was probably going to pick up a good appearance fee for simply being there and could plug his publication discreetly. The lady judge was one of those bossy strict boring women who knew nothing about the subject but felt her opinion was important and indisputable. The contestants were picked to fit a stereotype that people believe makes a “railway modeller”. So, the grumpiness made me flick onto something else before the few minutes was up.

Agree with that. The contestants I believe are good model makers but they are asked to make stupid layouts which the producers appear to think will appeal. I expect 90% or more who watch this will already be into the hobby and may well like me feel sorry for those involved with a task that does nothing for them. For those watching who may be thinking of taking up the hobby I can not see why the programmes would encourage them as no explanation (even if only in passing) is given as to how the locos are run etc. A chap with a fishing rod with a supposed space ship on the end coming into land makes me cringe.A decent programme about building a proper model railway layout from making the baseboards to the finished article would in my view be more beneficial for the hobby and those wanting to start or folk like us looking for new ideas.

Take care I like Marklin and will defend the worlds greatest model rail manufacturer.

I couldn't care less about the program... But at this point in time, what really would be beneficial for the hobby are hoards of young people who would hassle their parents for a train set... May be a bit of non educational family entertainment might contribute to increased sales, and make the hobby appear approachable.

There is a bit more to the hobby than the high quality rendition of a given part of the world with matching rolling stock and locos... There are a lot of enthusiasts who see the hobby as a way to express creativity, explore technology or simply run trains.. and there is nothing wrong with any of the approaches in my view.

- Want to build a 100% accurate model of Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof in the 1930s? Go for it- Want to put a space ship on top of the village church? Go for it!- Want to pull a set of Donnerbüchsen with an E120? Go for it!- Want to stage the destruction of London Waterloo station by Godzilla? Go for it!- Want to scratch build your tracks and points? Go for it!- Want to set-up an oval on your carpet and watch trains go in circle? Go for it!

As others have said, this show does nothing to getting rid of the stereo type view of rail model makers.Skilled modelers using heaps of new and good quality equipment can obviously make a good job!So much nit picking, rivet counters!!!!!!!!Not really like the most of us that model on a very tight budget!Not for me but I did like the layout with the dino's and space ships.

Whatever reservations I may have about the format of the programme, I think it is great that a television company is making programmes about our hobby. No such thing as bad publicity and the model railway industry needs all the help it can get!

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